The notorious Taraba kidnap kingpin, Hamisu Bala Wadume, has revealed how he met Army Captain Tijjani Balarabe that freed him from the police when he was first arrested – Wadume says he met Captain Balarabe when the latter paid a visit to the seriki of Ibi town – The suspect says the seriki also invited him to his palace, where he met the army captain – Wadume says he gave the captain N30,000 cash the first time he met him The notorious Taraba kidnap kingpin, Hamisu Bala Wadume, has said he first met Army Captain Tijjani Balarabe when the latter paid a visit to the seriki of Ibi town. New Telegraph reports that Wadume said that the Seriki invited him as the youth leader to meet the new army commander in town.
Speaking on his meeting with the army captain, Wadume said before then, he was not close with any army senior officer. He disclosed that upon meeting Balarabe at the palace of the seriki, he gave the army captain N30,000 cash on the same day. Wadume said: “Three weeks later, I went to him again and gave him N50,000. I started fuelling army patrol vehicles whenever they are going on patrol. I do this on every market day. There was even a time I also sent N200,000 to the captain’s bank account.” The suspect said he was introduced into arms trafficking by his friend, Babaginda Musa. He added: “Babaginda sold two AK47 rifles to me at the rate of N650,000. He bought two other K2 rifles for me at N550,000. I bought four rifles at the rate of N2.4 million.” The suspect said he later bought an additional five AK47 rifles from Babaginda and Galadima Bakar at the rate of N600,000 each.
Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that the notorious kidnap kingpin Hamisu Bala Wadume was making shocking confessions as he appeared before the Special Investigation Panel in Abuja. The panel is probing the circumstances of Wadume’s escape when he was first arrested and the killing of policemen and a civilian by soldiers at a checkpoint.
